The Australian Research Council (ARC) is funding the UQ research project "Mitigation of silica nano-particle scaling in water treatment" under its continuous Linkage Projects scheme, which promotes national, and international, collaboration and research partnerships between key stakeholders in government, industry and research institutions.
The funding amounts to $165,000, and the project is further supported by Santos, Shell, Arrow Energy, APLNG as well as The University of Queensland through the Centre for Coal Seam Gas (CCSG).
This ARC-funded project will develop new ways to improve the performance of the Reverse Osmosis (RO) treatment plants that are used to desalinate coal seam water produced as part of the coal seam gas extraction process. Specifically, this project will develop new ways to reduce silica scaling on the RO membranes that are an integral component of the treatment process.
Expected outcomes include more productive use of assets, improved pre-treatment infrastructure to support RO operation and the environmental benefits of less chemical waste and higher water recovery.
Associate Professor Steven Pratt from UQ's School of Chemical Engineering will chair the Project Management Committee. UQ collaborates with the University of New South Wales and Wastewater Futures on the ARC-Linkage project, which commenced in May.
Read more about the "Mitigation of silica nano-particle scaling in water treatment" project.
